


The Penny Dreadfuls

by TipsyTophat



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Goblins, I Don't Even Know, I don't really use tags, M/M, Other, Possible Character Death, Smoking, Swearing, Witchcraft, Witches, have fun I guess
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2020-09-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26229520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TipsyTophat/pseuds/TipsyTophat
Summary: Lana stood there eyes wide in disbelief as the 7/11 employee locked the door and walked back to the break room like it was nothing muttering something along the lines of, "I'll unlock it after my break."Now she was stuck in here with 3 other kids who looked just as confused and somewhat pissed.A girl who looked like a cowboy, however she did it flawlessly and her homemade earrings and shoulder length hair really suited her.Another girl who looked very cottagecore esc. Big glasses and a short hair cut, she looked stunning.And a boy, dressed like an art hoe. The half blue half black hair and several piercings gave it away that he lived in the city.And Lana, a girl who dressed in all black and matched the boys many piercings. Some would call her Goth but she considered herself alt.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Female Character, Original Male Character/Original Male Character, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Kudos: 1





	1. An off day

Lana grumbled as she gripped the steering wheel of her beat up old truck tightly. The air conditioning hardly worked anymore and being in the middle of the desert, mid-day, and in the summer ment an insufferable 3 hour drive to Nevada. Even though the truck was a gift she still despised it. The seats were questionably stained, the fuel gauge would randomly stop working, and the tires needed to be changed. But being a poor college student ment no money so no functioning car for her.

She was on her way to hook up with an ex-girlfriend of hers. They had broken up because of cheating however stayed in contact. Lana didn't know why, but having some hate fucking from time to time wasn't so bad. _That bitch Georgia. Cheating on me with an ugly whore._ She'd never admit it but she missed Georgia greatly.

Thankfully the fuel gauge was working and she needed to get gas soon. She sped down the old highway and spotted a 7/11 standing all by itself. Strange but not uncommon among these parts. She slowed and pulled into the old stores parking lot, the concrete looked as if it was about to split open and swallow her car whole. She grabbed her phone, her bag, and opened the door to step out.

The sun was unbearable as she walked up into the store. The bell on the door rang and the employee, a girl with wind swept brown hair pulled back and the standard uniform, sat behind the counter. She looked up from her magazine and did a double take at Lana's appearance. She got that alot. Lana rolled her eyes and went to go check out the snacks the store had. Pringles, Lays, Doritos... M&Ms?

Just then the bell to the door rang again. Again. And one final time. _Huh, that's odd that so many people just piled up at once... They probably were just in the same car._ She grabbed the bag of M&Ms that called to her, the peanut butter ones. And she went to the back of the store to grab a soda or something. _And maybe some lube while your at it._ She browsed through the selection before selecting a Monster.

She strolled over to the drugs and other weird products. Rubber bands, lip balm, those weird pills they always have... Ah there it is. The lotion looked decent enough so she grabbed it. She was heading over to the counter when the employee stood and walked over to the door fishing out her keys. The other people in the store also seemed to notice the girl and walked over to see what she was doing to the door. After about 3 seconds Lana finally realized what she was doing.

Lana stood there eyes wide in disbelief as the 7/11 employee locked the door and walked back to the break room like it was nothing muttering something along the lines of, "I'll unlock it after my break."

Now she was stuck in here with 3 other kids who looked just as confused and somewhat pissed.

A girl who looked like a cowboy, however she did it flawlessly and her homemade earrings and shoulder length hair really suited her.

Another girl who looked very cottagecore esc. Big glasses and a short hair cut, she looked stunning.

And a boy, dressed like an art hoe. The half blue half black hair and several piercings gave it away that he lived in the city.

And Lana, a girl who dressed in all black and matched the boys many piercings. Some would call her Goth but she considered herself alt.

"Uh. What the hell just happened?" The cowboy spoke up first and just stared at the break room door unsure of what she should do.

"I don't know. Are you allowed to do that?" The girl with big glasses spoke in a soft voice unlike the other girls louder and more expressive tone.

"Pretty sure you can get fired for that." Lana spoke testing the doors if she really locked them. She wouldn't be able to leave if she didn't anyways, she needed to get gas and they didn't have a credit card slot for the pumps.

"I have like places to be what the fuck." The boy finally spoke after stewing and scuffing his boot on the floor.

The cowboy just shrugged and opened her bag of chips and started to eat them walking to the back of the counter to look at the register. "Melody! What are you doing you can't go back there!"

"What is she gonna do Rowan? Once she comes back I'll pay for it... With the money in the register." Melody responded to the boy smirking and opening the drawer. "Oh wow look at all this cash." Melody pocketed a 20 before closing the drawer and turning around to look at the cigarettes.

"Pretty sure you can get fired for that too." Lana snickered and opened her soda sipping it and walking over to this so called Melody girl and looked at the selection with her. She picked up a pack of Camel, pulled out a cigarette, and lit it. "It's pretty funny though, definitely a good 'what happened over the Summer?' stories."

Melody nodded and did the same as Lana, lighting hers with the other girls. However Rowan rolled his eyes and looked outside. "What if we broke the windows? We could keep all the stuff for free too, even the money."

"They have cameras dumbass. I can't afford to go to jail right now" Melody quipped puffing out a cloud of grey smoke.

Rowan mumbled a angry ' _W_ _hatever'_ before opening his own candy and eating it. "So... What are your guy's names? Mines Leone." The cottagecore girl spoke up smiling nervously and openings the Powerade she had.

"Melody, as you probably guessed and that angry hoe is Rowan."

"I'm Lana."

After that they stayed mostly silent. Melody and Lana smoked, Rowan grabbed heavy objects and swung at the windows but stopped before smashing them, and Leone wandered around the store looking at magazines and the like. Maybe 15 minutes passed when a almost distressed voice came from the back end of the store. "Hey guys...? What is this?"

Melody and Lana jumped over the counter and made their way over to Leone with Rowan. Leone looked shaken as she pointed to an odd hole inside of one of the refrigerators. The hole swirled with black and purple, an ominous aura surrounded it even with the door being closed. "Please tell me I'm just seeing things and that nothing is there."

But no one said anything of the sort just a string of _'What the fuck is that? ... I don't know? ... What is it?'_ "I'm gonna touch it."

"Rowan if you touch that thing I swear to god I'm kicking you out." Rowan smiled and opened the door.

"Good cause I hate you bitch."

"Rowan I really don't think that's a good idea..." Leone mumbled rubbing her arm.

"Yeah Rowan don't." Lana said louder reaching for the door.

But before she could close it Rowan stuck out his pinky and touched the hole. There was a flash of light, a wave of nausea, and then nothing. Everyone opened their eyes and Rowan was gone.

"Holy shit he actually touched it."


	2. A new world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crying. Discovery. And secrets.

The three of them stared at the hole for a solid 10 seconds before Melody started to sob. "Oh my god he died. He- he died oh my god!" Leone immediately rushed to her side telling her that 'No he didn't die he just... I don't know but I know he didn't die' and mumbling under her breath about how stupid it was to mention it in the first place.

Lana looked at where Rowan had been standing. There was zero traces of him anywhere. This made no sense. "Do.. do you think we should go after them?" Melody wiped her nose on the shoulder of her green flannel, the tears held back for now but the floodgates were barely held together. Leone kept reassuring her and Lana thought about it.

"Don't you think it's odd the girl just locked us in here and there's this... thing in the wall?" She was mainly asking Leone mostly because she was probably the most sensible, but also the most stable at that moment.

"I'm not sure. Though it is an _interesting_ coincidence." She replied digging around in her pocket to fetch a napkin for the girl she was holding. Lana nodded and made her way over to the door to the employees office. She knocked on the door 3 times before looking into the small window the door had. But she couldn't see anyone.

"Uhm." Lana twisted the door handle to no avail. She turned around panicked. In that state of panic the old 7/11 seemed to shift, looking much older than it had previously. The floors, walls, and ceiling had cracks that looked like spiders had wove them. The products now had a thin layer of dust over them. The front doors looked rusty and the glass was stained yellow.

Lana blinked several times but the scene before her didn't disappear. "Leone?" Lana called out stuck to the door in confusion and fear. "Leone?!"

"What? What is it-" Leone looked up from Melody and noticed the state of the store. Her eyes widened and she held the girl next to her tightly. "What happened? Did you press some button what- Lana what is this?"

"I don't know! I looked in the employees room and the girl was gone! I tried to open the door but it didn't work, so I turned around and- it looked like this!" Lana grabbed her short black bob and tried to make reason of this situation. _It's all just a prank. Rowan is going to pop up and we are all going to laugh it's just a joke._ But she knew that it wasn't a joke. The walls, the nausea, the dust that covered everything, and the-

"My truck!" Lana had looked a little closer through the now stained glass and rushed over. "It, it looks so old and broken. It didn't look like that before did it?"

By this point Leone had walked over and looked out the windows as well. "My car! That was almost brand new when I bought it!" The car in question was covered in dirt and grime. Dead bugs, bird poop, and a fare amount of rust. "This. This isn't happening. Is this a prank? Ha ha very funny can it be over now?" Leone looked around but no camera crew popped out.

"This is impossible how- why? Why us why me?" Lana paced and grabbed a now old and dusty box of cigarettes. She lit up and smoked still pacing and going back over to the fridge briefly before going back to the front doors. "I'm not going to be apart of this shit. Not today, not ever." Lana grabbed the register, swung her arms back, and chucked it at a large window. However it didn't break. Instead the register just went right through the window and skidded against the now even more cracked parking lot.

Lana blinked, looked outside, before slowly sitting down and placing her head in her hands. "I- I have pets. My parents. My job. What what's going to happen?" Leone sat beside her and pulled the vacant Melody down with her.

"I don't know. I know it sounds crazy but it feel like we're supposed to be here. Maybe it's some mad paranormal shit and now we're ghosts? No that sounds stupid I'm sorry uh..." But Lana just nodded.

"Do you think we are supposed to touch that weird hole portal thing?"

"I mean there's no other way out of here is there? You could try to break down the employees door though, maybe the key is in there." So Lana sized up the now more brittle and old wooden door, walked backwards to the front doors, and charged directly towards the doors body slamming herself against them. The door made loud groaning sound but stayed standing.

Lana groaned along with the door rubbing her right arm. Leone ran into it and so did Melody but she was off in another world and didn't give much effort. "Well that was a bust." Lana mumbled looking over at the hole inside of the suprizingly still running fridge.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Leone asked following Lana's line of sight.

"What other choice do we have? We have to go after Rowan right?" Melody nodded and looked at Leone finally snapping out of her trance.

"Yeah but... We don't know what that is."

"Well I see no other way out. For all you know it leads to where we were heading to on our original trips."

"I really don't know about this maybe we should-" But before she could finish her sentence Lana stood and made her way over to the fridge, Melody following. Lana opened the door and gulped, but someone grabbed her hand. Lana turned her head to she Melody smiling.

"Together." Lana nodded then looked past the country girl over to Leone and raised a brow. She gave a heavy sigh then stood slowly walked over and grabbing onto Melody's hand.

"Together." She nodded.

"On a count of 3. 1..2..3.."

"Wait-!"

Lana touched the portal.

* * *

Flashing lights swirling together filled Lana's vision. She felt like she was going to throw up. The hold in her hand was slipping so she quickly held on tight but she herself was starting to feel drowsy. A sharp pain made her double over and grab her stomach, letting go of the hand. She blacked out.

"...he okay?"

"I don't know."

Lana came to and instantly her eyes flicked open. She shot up but cringed holding onto her stomach and gasping, hot stabs of pain raking through her. "Woah! Easy there!" A pair of leather gloved hands laid her back down gently.

"Where am I?" Lana asked her eyes now looking up at the roof. It looked strangely...Old fashioned.

"You are currently in _Heart Wares Healing Shop._ Best in the business might I add."

"What happened? Where are the people I came here with?"

"Uh we aren't quite sure what happened to you. You were, and still are it seems, suffering from immense pain, however no bones had been broken." The doctor said in a slightly concerned voice. "I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'people', however we did find a single girl nearby where we found you. That might be who you are looking for."

"What does she look like?" Lana's heart rose in hope.

"Short dirty blonde hair, broken glasses-we need to get that glass removed-, and a green sweater?"

"That's her." Lana sighed with relief before realizing. "Wait she was the only one you found?"


	3. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Melody meets someone.

Rowan's eyes fluttered open but immediately squeezed tight in pain. He had a raging headache along with the rest of his body. His hands moved up and gripped his pain filled head. His arms seemed to be like a rusty machine and the bones ground against eachother when he moved them. He screamed and curled in on himself which didn't help the pain at all, instead his whole body ground against itself. Rowan passed out from the pain.

* * *

Melody bolted up when she felt something crawl onto her. Her head swam with dizziness with the sudden movement and she saw static for about 3 seconds before it cleared. She looked all around to see nothing had crawled onto her, but a person was crouching beside her with a hand pulled back startled.

"Who the fuck are you?" She growled scrambling back on the soft grass she had lied upon. It was then she noticed her whole body ached in pain, and her mouth and throat begged for water.

The person who had sat beside her blinked before apologizing immediately. "I'msosorry. I thought you were hurt, you were just laying here with a pained expression on your face. Uh- again sorry, but that cut on your leg looks deep are you okay?"

Melody looked down at her legs. Her once mostly new pants were now ripped and stained with dirt. A long rip along the side of her jeans was stained with a dark brown and she grimaced. "I don't know... But I'll be fine- I need to find someone I gotta go." She said standing up but immediately falling back down. The girl jumped up and caught her before she could faceplant onto the ground.

"You don't seem fine. Let me take you to my house I can fix you up." She said holding the girl up with a worried tone in her voice.

"No. I'm fine like I said I need to find someone." Melody wiggled out of the girls grasp, she stood and tried to take a step away but stumbled and fell again. The girl caught her again and mumbled something underneath her breath.

"You really don't seem like your in the right state to walk, let alone go searching for somebody." She said supporting the girl in her arms. "Plus if you keep falling like that the cut on your leg will get worse."

Melody stared at the ground thinking. _If I go with this girl I could die. But if I don't I could die. I don't know where I am... And I don't know what's out there._ She gulped but made up her mind. "Fine." She righted herself in the girls arm and leaned on her like a crutch.

The girl nodded and smiled. They started walking slowly down the apparent hill she was laying on. The grass was long and filled with beautiful yellow flowers. They looked similar the buttercups but different. The grass also seems alive with bugs. Grasshoppers and ladybugs jumped and flew around eating the lush grass beneath their feet. "So... how'd you get so hurt in the first place?"

Melody paused and thought. "I really don't know." She would probably sound like a crazy person if she told her that she touched a portal in a 7/11 and she ended up here. The girl looked at her puzzled but carried on walking.

"That happens I guess. Trauma can erase memories." She nodded before adjusting the large hat that sat upon her head, looked almost like a sunhat but had a pointy top that flopped down. "Well, do you remember your name?" She smiled and furrowed her brow unsure if she was trying to make a joke or be serious.

"Yes. It's Melody. Like a song." She nodded her head agreeing to her own words. She put all of her weight on her left leg to try and ease the pain of the right. "Do you remember yours?" She smiled.

"That's a nice name." She nodded and smirked at the question. "As a matter of fact I think I do. It's Celeste. Like space." Melody chuckled and they kept walking in silence till they met a treeline. "My house is just beyond these trees in a clearing. Watch your step though, sandworms like to lurk here."

"Uh okay yeah." _Sandworms? What's a sandworm?_ Wherever she was it was most definitely not her town. Celeste had them walk carefully, avoiding logs and strange bumps in the loose earth. The forest itself was beautiful. Moss covered the trees and the branches created a stunning canopy, with dappled evening light that seeped through.

Celeste stilled them and held her hand over Melody's mouth. Melody narrowed her eyebrows and looked at the girl, but her gaze was fixed in front of them. She turned her head over to where she was looking and her eyes widened. A large animal stood there still and kind of blended in with the trees. The animal looked like a deer but had an unmistakable long and thick tounge that turned and twisted around.

It walked with grace, but the unnatural addition gave it a foreboding feeling. It had paused when it was directly in front of them and looked at them head on. Celeste's breath hitched and Melody stood terrified. It stared for a moment before moving on and trotting off through the trees. Once it was completely out of sight the hand covering her mouth was removed and a sigh of relief filled the silence.

"That was close. They usually don't come this close to the house. Sorry about that." she said smiling before moving them forward. Melody's eyes stayed wide open with shock and fear and looked in the direction of where the animal had walked off to.

"I'm sorry but what in the actual hell was that?" She said walking slowly with Celeste and constantly looking back to check if it came back.

"Uh. It's a long-tounged deer? Haven't you seen or at least heard of them?" She replied confusion seeping into her words.

"No I have not." Melody said still glancing behind them.

"Oh. Huh okay. They are essentially a deer with an extremely long tounge. They use it to capture prey and the like. But they can't see you if you don't move. Most people know about them, it's like a common thing to know." Celeste explained before stopping again. "Well here it is."

Melody looked back and saw a very pretty cottage in front of them. A garden grew in front of the house, a fence protecting the crops. Speaking of fences a large gate stood before them. Celeste mumbled some words and it opened. _That's odd..._

"It's not much but it's home." she shrugged and led them onto the property the gate automatically closing behind them. They walked up the steps and into the house. The house was well decorated and plants lined the walls and windowsills. The old wallpaper was red and tan striped, a small portion of it peeling. An old couch and table that had candles placed upon it.

Celeste gestured to the couch and Melody sat down her bones aching. "Let me get some medicine and bandages. And maybe a change of clothes that aren't covered in dirt and blood." Melody was about to protest about the clothes but she was already gone.

Melody sighed and looked around her. A few paintings lined the walls, along with some old styled oil lamps. She was really dedicated to the aesthetic huh. A red rug that was fraying on the edges, a large bay window with green tinted glass, and plants everywhere. But there were some odd things as well. Skulls of animal lined the walls as well as strange items strung together that hung from the ceiling. The more she looked the more she noticed.

There was also words carved into the wood above her head that she couldn't quite make out. Melody supposed that when you live by yourself anything could be considered a decoration. But the whole house have off a mystical vibe, as well as a dangerous one. But she didn't have a choice to leave now did she.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading friends :)! Feedback is always appreciated and keeps me motivated lol
> 
> -Sam


	4. Cottage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Going into detail of Celeste's cottage. And like actual detail into things. Also very lighthearted no angst on my watch.

Celeste walked through the old oak hallway, with that old red and tan wallpaper that led to her room. Bookshelves lined with old classics, plays, and poetry. She hardly remembered where she got most of them, probably from borrowing books but never giving them back. However the bookshelves also held their odd items.

A jar full of teeth -mostly animal-, a jar growing some Amanita mushrooms, an old rabbit skull that had cracked, and... Jason? She stopped and craned her neck to indeed see a finch perched on top of an old red leather-bound book. He looked at her and chirped once before stretching out his wings and hoping off, transforming.

The process looked quite grotesque despite what movies portray. Feathers shifting back into skin and eyes shifting to the front of your face. The once brown bird had turned into a 4'0" tall gremlin. He smiled, showing off his sharp canines. "Hello Celeste." He greeted fixing his tan sunhat and dusting off his overalls.

"I- don't you work in the fields a town away?"

"Yeah, but I decided I should visit. This place really needs some dusting." He said running a tanned finger along the peeling wallpaper and showing Celeste the dust.

"Yeah yeah I know. But really- this isn't a good time. I've got a girl-"

"Yeah yeah girl who's hurt and needs my help. Every time I come over here it's 'oh it's a broken leg' or 'she isn't fake sleeping she's literally in a coma stop poking her eye'. You never care about me!" He growled and folded his arms craning his neck all the way back to look up at Celeste.

"Well if you sent a letter I would know you were coming over and make sure to not have patients that day. Literally that's all you need to do I tell you this every time Jason." She rolled her eyes and started walking away. "I really need to get her some bandages and herbs. Stay if you want but I'm going to be focusing on her."

"Blah blah blah new crush of the week blah blah blah."

"Excatly." Celeste reached the back of the hall and opened the door to her room. She quickly grabbed some bandages and a jar of marigolds, lavender, and some sage, some old clothes, exited the room closing the door behind her.

She passed Jason who was still standing there looking like an angry nome. And decended down her rickety old staircase. "Sorry for the delay I found something weird and had to take care of it." Celeste apologized to Melody before setting the contents on the table. "Can you put your leg on the tab-"

"SOMETHING WEIRD?!" A scream sounded from upstairs along with angry footsteps creaking down the stairs. "YOU THINK I'M WEIRD?!"

"-le please." She asked standing up to grab a stone bowl on a shelf above them. It had a small stone used to grind up herbs and such, very handy. She set it down, sat down on her knees, and without even glancing at Jason said, "Yes."

"HOW. DARE. YOU! AND AFTER ALL WE'VE BEEN THROUGH?!" Jason raised his clawed hands up in a dramatic gesture.

"Yes. You biting a patient because they were 'fake-sleeping' is considered weird." Celeste grabbed a small knife out of her dress pocket and started to cut away at Melody's pant leg to get at the cut.

"They were! After I bit them they gave up the act!"

"No you took a chunk out of their leg and woke up from shock."

"Same difference!"

"No."

Melody winced as her pant leg was slowly peeled off, the caked blood staining it's fibers.

"I cannot believe what I am hearing! And don't come crawling back when you need me!" The goblin screamed and stormed out the front door, pausing before slamming it, "Write me..." then he slammed it as hard as his 4'0" self could.

"Should I even ask?" Melody mumbled looking away from her mangled leg.

Celeste sighed. "He's an old friend I knew from my old village. He's uh, a little eccentric as you can see." She shook her head while grabbed her herbs and grinding them into a pulp.

"He means well though, most of the time. But what do you expect from a shape-shifter?" Celeste laughed before applying the plant based mush onto her leg.

Melody cried out in pain but tried not to jerk her leg back. "Ah-sorry."

"It's fine, it's supposed to hurt." She smiled before wrapping the leg up in a cloth bandage. "Well you are all patched up. You can leave now or stay, but in the condition your leg is in I'd advise not to."

Melody nodded looking at her patched up leg. "If you don't mind... Could I stay the night? Just so my leg can heal."

"Oh of course, of course! My patients are always welcome to stay if they need to heal." Celeste gave a friendly smiled before standing and gathering her things. "I'm going to put these away before making dinner." She reached for a book above Melody and gave it to her, "Here some entertainment." She gave a nervous laugh before walking back up the stairs into the darkness.

Melody looked at the cover of the book. It hadn't been touched in ages it was covered in dust. She wiped it away with her flannel to read the title, _A lambs tale._ Melody raised an eyebrow at the title of the book. _'A little childish'_

She turned the book over to see what it was about but it was blank. _'A blind read. Well I have nothing else better to do.'_ She opened the old book and began reading the first sentence before she paused.

"Wait... Shape-shifter?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I was gonna make a chapter all about Leone and Lana but like I really wanted to write this okay don't @ me.
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated my homies :)
> 
> -Sam


End file.
